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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

The title of this post is wrong in so many ways and the least of which is the non-existence of Bombay. It isnt like Bombay disappeared or anything its that it underwent a name change and it is now Mumbai. Dont ask me how this stuff happens and I can tell you we have a little of that going on right here in NYC, every now and again an avenue gets a 'token' name for awhile but it is never a permanent name change like the Bombay-Mumbai thing and I am not even going to begin to try and understand it.

What I will try and understand is the cuisine and I have been trying to understand it for many years now and I feel confident in telling you that I have barely scratched the surface. I dont know the names of all the language dialects. I dont know the breakdown of the caste system. I dont know diddly squat really but I do like to make curries and masalas.

I heat up the spice mixture until it is aromatic. I get all of my spices from a Pakistani grocery store on 1st and sixth here in Manhattan, I have been shopping at this same location for years and years. This store has big bags of nuts and legumes and masalas and curries and jars and jars of ghee and coconut and tandoori mixes and chutney and on and on and on. Sometimes when I am feeling particularly 'local' I order a couple of handmade paans, the guy wraps them on the spot as you order. The paan thing is like an insider trading deal - not everyone knows about it.

After the spices are perfect I add ghee and the poached chicken and the stock that I poached the chicken in. I let this simmer a bit then I add coconut milk and a little cream right before serving with some fluffy basmati rice. I dont know how authentic the recipe or process is but the flavor is spot on.

I made the 'graduate' a special cake - the older he gets the more 'free form' the decoration gets. A couple years ago his birthday cake looked like this and before that it looked like this. So, while this was not a birthday cake it was very relaxed in its decor. This is a flourless chocolate cake with chocolate sauce.

Wow the curry looks awesome! Must have gone well with the rice! Great to hear that you have a store nearby having all the spices. Addition to any dish makes it so flavourful! Loved the birthday cake too!

Firstly,that's quite a nice 'rangoli' design-I'm impressed!!Secondly-YOU and "paan"???!!Who'd have ever thought ;) BTW,do you eat the 'meetha'(sweet) paan with gulkhand or is it the one with tobacco?In India,I used to love eating the meeta paan(no beetle nut,mind you).Every saturday after dinner,we would walk up to the local paanwala(person who sells paan)and order for it-haven't eaten one in over a year!!P.S: Legend has it that Mumbai was named after the goddess "Mumba devi",then the Brits landed and anglicized the name to "Bombay"(I grew up in Bombay and still refer to it as Bombay). I guess the Indian politicians can't find more important issues than re-naming cities and roads!!

I love Indian food but have not delved into cooking it. I don't understand it, either. It seems so complex. The chicken looks good - if the flavors there your doing something right. What a decadent cake! Love the rattlesnake & the pirate!

i wish there is a store near my place with all these spices. never tried any gravy with ghee. must try this curry for lunch as soon i get hand with all these spices :) yours sound delish as well as the yummy cake.cheers!!

Your foods are always so colorful and artfully presented. I love visiting Pakistani/Indian grocery stores too, especially when I find myself in an eating rut. Every trip always inspires me to make something different.

The cake lokos so yummy, I'm sure I wouldn't even notice the decoration! Plus, creative is good!This curry looks outstanding. the cuisine fromt eh subcontinent is a whole expertise on its own... there's so much to learn that I doubt anyone that isn't born there can master it. So my approach is to master a couple of dishes! I love coconut milk in curries! Delicious!

That curry dish arrangement looks so cool. How long did it take you to line all those up? I hope you food did not get too cold when setting it up for photos. Ours always does. Food blogging come with a price... one must make two plates: one for photos and one for eating(that stays hot). The cake is cool too. I like the skull — kick ass!

The curry presentation is beyond outstanding! But even without the artful arrangement, your dish is amazing in every way. Indian cooking has always intimidated me because of the spice mixtures - there always seems to be a long list of ingredients and I don't trust myself to know what flavors I should be trying to achieve. I suppose the remedy for that is to eat as much good Indian food as I can to get the hang of it!

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Christo Gonzales

Learning recipes is great, learn technique and its grand. ChezWhat is a virtual bistro with an ever changing menu based on the freshest most unique ingredients of the season. I have a passion for words and food and I love how well they go together, my kitchen explorations are my life and my life is food. Come with me while we experiment with flavors.